Within four days of its launch across Delhi, the transactions under the ‘One Nation One Ration Card‘ (ONORC) has crossed 1,000, with migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh leading the chart.
Under the ONORC scheme, migrants with ration cards registered anywhere in India can collect their share of monthly ration from fair price shops located in the national capital.
While there is no official data on the number of migrants living in Delhi, the Centre estimates the number could be around 10 lakh as people from near and far flock to the city in search of employment.
Delhi launched the scheme on July 20 after the Supreme Court set July 31 as the deadline in this regard. Between April and June, the scheme had a trial run at the Seemapuri circle of the food department.
According to official records, till 10 am on Saturday, there were 1,261 transactions under ONORC, including 674 by holders of ration cards registered in Bihar, and 543 in Uttar Pradesh.
And with the availability of food grains in ration shops touching adequate levels, the disbursal of monthly ration to regular card holders have also risen to 35.07 per cent.
Records show of the 17.78 lakh ration card holders in the city, 6.23 lakh (35.07 per cent) have collected food grains under the Public Distribution System (PDS) so far.
The Indian Express had reported on July 22 that the ONORC scheme was not registering an uptick in transactions due to a technical glitch in the portal meant for the scheme. The issue was subsequently addressed.
The city has a network of 1,998 fair price shops.
Under the National Food Security Act, beneficiaries coming under the PR (priority household) and PRS (priority state household) categories are entitled to 5 kg of food grains per month while AAY households receive 25 kg wheat, 10 kg rice and 1 kg sugar. Around 15 lakh card holders come under the PR category in Delhi, 1.73 lakh are classified as PRS, while the remaining come under the AAY category.
Till Diwali, beneficiaries of every category will get additional 5 kg of food grains free of cost under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna (PMGKAY).